10 millionth visitor of 2018 arrives in Taiwan

Taiwan sees 10 million visitors so far this year, 1/4 from New Southbound Policy nations

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The Taiwan Tourism Bureau announced that the 10 millionth traveler to the country arrived in Taipei last night (Dec. 2), nearly two weeks earlier than last year, setting a record fourth consecutive year that the country has seen 10 million visitors, over a quarter of whom are from New Southbound Policy countries.

Huang Yi-ping, a section chief at the bureau's International Travel Division, said that because Taiwan had received its 10 millionth visitor of the year, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) notified the bureau that the passenger arrived at around 9 p.m., but did not disclose their name or nationality, reported CNA.

Since the start of the year, visitors from 18 countries included in the New Southbound Policy have accounted for nearly one quarter of all arrivals in Taiwan, especially travelers from the Philippines and Vietnam, who have increased by more than 50 percent and 30 percent, respectively, according to the bureau.

According to statistics from the bureau, the top five largest sources of tourists in Taiwan over the past four years were China, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau, South Korea, and the U.S. These five markets comprise 70 percent of all tourists coming to Taiwan.

Visitors from Japan are expected to exceed 2 million this year, while travelers from the 18 southbound countries could surpass 2.5 million.